Yellowjackets Season 3: Spring Has Sprung in the Wilderness

Photo by Courtesy of Paramount - © Paramount

When you've spent months in freezing temperatures relying on several untasteful practices to survive, I can imagine living in cute wooden stick-clad shelters and indulging in wholesome(ish) celebrations to be a welcome change. That is until it all inevitably falls to pieces as the forest spirits take over and send everyone loopy again because the balance needs to be restored. But hey, just a prediction.

The Yellowjackets are back for season 3, and it doesn't look like anyone's going to catch a break anytime soon.

Now, if I had survived those ill-fated goings-on in the wilderness, the least I could hope for would be a few moments of tranquillity in my adult life. But that's a few moments more than the remaining survivors are going to get this season, as events are already taking a dubious turn. With only the first two episodes sporting a valentines release date, and season 2 cleanup consuming a chunk, we're not yet acquainted with exactly what's happening. Sure, it's not hard to make an educated guess, but, undeniably, something is happening.

Kudos to the hair and makeup team, because the teens have undergone significant weathering this season. Of course naturally emphasised by the notably disgruntled forest fashion. And it wouldn't be a new Yellowjackets season if a few new teenage girls didn't spawn out of nowhere. Luckily they materialised right as conditions are looking much less bleak, immaculate timing.

Fortunately, none of the regulars have disappeared to make room, and Shauna remains her scary self: both wilderness and post. The teens continue to go through the motions of survival, this time exuding an air of underlying unease far more subtle than the entirely unhinged events of last season. The cheerful greenery and warming sunshine might be working to lift morale, but big things lie ahead, probably bad things actually.

From a more technical standpoint, it's great to see the pacing has remained consistent across seasons, the non-linear splicing still reigns superior. Pair this with the polished camera work and agreeable score, there leaves little room for criticism.

With a new episode every Friday on Paramount+, season 3 will build up to its April finale whilst hopefully retaining the ferocity of both previous seasons. And it's certainly off to a good start, both initial hour-long episodes have laid out an exciting path for their successors to walk, no doubt dialling up the intensity along the way. Season 3 is shaping up to be a chronicle of sick depravity, and we're all seated for it. Please don't gut the bunnies.